Pokemon: New and Old
by Naruto-Superman4
Summary: A story set between Unova and Kalos. Ash just wants to battle and have fun, but something's bothering him. He's always wanted to recapture the feel of being a new Trainer. Most Trainers don't go through this sort of thing, but Ash does.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – _Respite_

"Finally! We've made it to the Kanto region!"

Ash watched the reactions of his three friends Iris, Cilan and Alexa as the boat docked at the Seafoam Islands in his home region of Kanto. Understandably, he didn't feel the same rush of excitement; since he was born here, he'd seen the region and knew what it was like, so there were really no more surprises to behold from it.

Not that he didn't look forward to coming home again. He did this after he explored a region and competed in its Pokémon League, so it was more likely he'd gotten used to the process.

Leaning over the railing so that a soft breeze went through his hair, he turned to his partner Pikachu, the tiny electric mouse Pokémon he always traveled with.

"Good to be home, isn't it?" he asked.

_"__Pikachu-Pika-Pi-Pikachu-Pika," _replied the tiny electric mouse. Although all Pokémon spoke in their own name, since Ash had been traveling with his friend for so long, all he heard was _Yeah, you're right, but it dims after a while doesn't it?_

"More or less," said Ash as he reached down and put on his backpack, waiting for Cilan, Iris and Alexa to do the same. It didn't take long; the two of them were so excited to be in Kanto that they were down the stairs and off the ramp faster than he usually was.

"C'mon Ash!" called Iris from the dock, her Dragon Pokémon Axew waiting with her in her hair, "Hurry up! Don't keep us waiting! _Uggggh, _you're _such _a little kid!"

_"__Pikachu-Pika-Pikachu-Pi-Pika-Chu-Pika-Pikachu?"_ Ash looked over at his friend, who'd said _Why does she keep calling you that after all we've been through with her? Shouldn't she know by now how long you've been doing this?_

"Don't worry about it," Ash shrugged as he held out his arm for Pikachu to climb up. "She's just impatient. She's just arrived to a new region and she's eager to see the sights, just like how we were the first time we went to Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova."

_"__Pikachu Pika?" (What about Johto?)_

Ash's head dipped back and forth as he considered. "Ehhhh, Johto's connected to Kanto, so it wasn't _too _big. All we had to do was go West, remember? But you're right, it was a new experience and I _did _catch some sweet Pokémon while we were there."

"Ash, hurry _up! Sheesh!_"

Ash grinned. As much as he'd love to keep staying on board an annoy Iris, the boat would leave for the Hoenn region in ten minutes, so unless he was interested in seeing that again he'd better depart. Ash walked down the stairs and joined his three traveling companions on the dock.

"What _took _you so long?" snapped Iris, the Dragon Trainer. "We've been waiting here for _hours!_ You shouldn't keep us waiting like this!"

_"__Ew, Axew!" _Axew chimed in.

"Now now," soothed Cilan, "I'm sure Ash has his reasons. Don't you Ash?"

Ash nodded. "It's just that I'm coming home is all. I'm in the mood to unwind."

Iris snorted. "It's still not nice for you to keep friends waiting. Don't ever do that again, Ash Ketchum."

Ash didn't respond. He just kept looking around the familiar port.

"So… do you know where to go, Ash?" asked Cilan. Being new here, neither he nor Iris understood the layout properly.

Ash nodded. "We're just gonna walk until we get to the North Pier. From there it's a quick ferry ride to Pallet Town."

"Is that where you're from?" asked Alexa.

Ash nodded. "Born and raised," he replied.

With nothing much else to talk about, the four of them (six if you're counting walking Pokémon) made their way to the North Pier, catching the ride to Pallet Town. Ash breathed in the air of his old stomping ground and sighed it back out.

_Yup, _he thought, _It's definitely good to be home._

A short walk later brought them to 233 Faraway Drive, Ash's home address. As expected, the garden was being tended to by Mr. Mime, who returned Ash's wave.

"Who's _that _Pokémon?" asked Iris.

Ash looked back. "That's Mr. Mime," he explained, "It helps my Mom out with the chores and everything."

He went up to the door and opened it, stepping inside. "Mom, I'm home!" he called.

"Welcome home, honey!" Ash's mother Delia, a warm, delightful woman, leaned in from the kitchen to get a glimpse of her son. "I'll be right there, I just need to finish this pot roast!"

Ash, Iris, Cilan and Alexa took off their shoes. "Make yourselves at home guys," Ash told them, before heading to the kitchen, where Delia warmly embraced him.

"How've you been, honey?" she asked.

"I've been fine, Mom," Ash replied.

Suddenly, without warning, Delia leaned close and asked:

"Did you remember to change your underwear every day?"

Ash turned red in the face, but answered in the affirmative. "Oh! And about that," he added. He brought his mother into the living room where he phoned Professor Oak on the video phone.

"Ash my boy!" the world-renowned Pokémon expert greeted Ash warmly. "How've you been? I see you've made it back home."

"I did Professor," said Ash, "And I want to show my Mom something. Can you send my Leavanny over?"

"I can," replied the Professor, "Provided you send me one of yours first."

"Oh yeah, right." Ash considered for a moment and took his Charizard's Poké Ball off his belt and enlarged it to its proper size. "I'm sending you Charizard, Professor."

"Ah, good," Oak replied, "It's about time for it to return to the Charicific Valley. Liza's told me her Charla's been missing it."

"Oh yeah," Ash remembered that Liza, the caretaker of the Charicific Valley in Johto had a Charizard, a female of the species nicknamed Charla, who'd gotten quite close to his Charizard. Ash didn't really understand the closeness they had, but he chose not to question it since Charizard seemed to really enjoy the attention he got from her the last time he saw the two of them together.

"I'm sending you back," Ash whispered to the Poké Ball holding his friend. "Charla misses you, so I'm sending you to Professor Oak so he can send you back to the Charicific Valley, okay? Keep up your training, old friend. I'm proud of you." The Poké Ball warmed in response, indicating Charizard got the message and was eager to return to his mate.

Iris saw Ash place the Poké Ball to his forehead for a moment and smiling before placing it in the transporter and pressing the button. In that moment, she saw all she'd thought he lacked; she saw the experience and wisdom that came from traveling the world for so long. _So why was he such a kid back in Unova? _She asked herself in her thoughts; if Ash had really been an experienced Trainer this whole time, he certainly hadn't shown it back there.

A flash of white light enveloped Charizard's Poké Ball and faded, leaving behind empty space. A split second later another flash of white light appeared, leaving a different Poké Ball in its place.

"So anyway Mom," Ash said, brightening up as he took the Poké Ball from the transporter pad, "I caught this Pokémon in Unova-"

"You caught _a _Pokémon in Unova," corrected his mother.

"Eh-heh," Ash grinned at the familiarity of being corrected by his mother on how to speak. "Right. I caught _a _Pokémon in Unova that's known for spinning clothes for other small Pokémon from with silk and leaves, and there was a Trainer in Unova named Luke who we met and whose movie we were in-"

"You were in a movie?" Delia asked, brightened by the notion that her son had gotten to spend time being an actor. From adolescence to the present day, people told her all the time she was beautiful enough to partake in the field herself, to which she would smile, laugh and graciously say, 'Oh, in another lifetime perhaps. But _thank you _though; you've just made my day!' and the thought of her ten-year-old son living out that dream made her ecstatic, although she was even happier knowing Ash was living out his own dreams.

"Yeah," Ash grinned, starting to get embarrassed. "It was for a film festival Luke was trying to win, and Iris, Cilan and me-"

"Iris, Cilan and _I_."

"Right, and Iris, Cilan and _I _got to be in it," Ash finished. He turned to his friends. "It won first prize, didn't it?"

Cilan nodded, "It was pretty popular because Pokémon from this region are rare in Unova, so naturally Ash's Pikachu was a huge production value, Mrs. Ketchum. And the star of course."

_"__Pika pika," _Pikachu grinned, pleased to have been given top billing. He'd made it big.

"So as I was saying," Ash continued, resuming his train of thought before being interrupted, "Luke's Leavanny would make all the costumes for everyone, and I was thinking that maybe you'd want my Leavanny around to help with the… uh…" Ash searched for the right word. "Clothes-making," he decided at last. He tossed the Poké Ball up in the air, "Leavanny, come meet my Mom!"

The Poké Ball reached its zenith in the air and split open at its hinge, releasing a flash of white-blue energy that reached the floor and took the form of Ash's Leavanny and faded, leaving the Bug and Grass-Type Pokémon standing with them in the middle of the room. Ash caught the Poké Ball and placed it on the table.

"Leavanny, this is my Mom," Ash said to it, "I was thinking you could help her with the clothes-making."

_"__Leavaaaaannnnnnny," _chimed Leavanny in a singsong voice.

"Oh my, what a lovely voice!" Delia gushed, "Make yourself right at home! Just hang on a second!"

She walked over to the window, leaned out and called to Mr. Mime. "Mimey, we've got a new house member! Please come in and show them the house please!"

Ash's friends looked at him with the fateful, inevitable question in their eyes. "Yeah," he admitted lamely. "She calls it Mimey."

Delia leaned back in and closed the window, then walked over to the door to let Mr. Mime in. Immediately the Barrier Pokémon began showing Ash's Leavanny around the house, showing it where everything was kept, what needed doing and so on and so forth.

"Thank you Ash," said Delia, wrapping her arms gratefully and maternally around her son. "Leavanny will _really _be a big help to me. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Ash said, embarrassed that his mother was hugging him in front of his friends. "Now could you let me go please? You're embarrassing me!"

Delia sighed and released the boy. "Oh, a few things before you head up to your room: I changed the sheets on your bed and I need your help to see if some of your old clothes still fit before I decide whether or not to throw them out, okay?"

"Okay," Ash nodded, then turned to head upstairs. "I'm just gonna change for a bit, I'll be back soon!" he called to his friends while bounding up the stairs to the second floor. The hallway on the second floor of the Ketchum household was exactly the way he remembered it. Except for the walls which were covered in some new floral pattern that Ash didn't care for much.

His room was where it always was: all the way down to the window overlooking the front of the house, last door on the left. Ash entered and smiled that his mom hadn't changed anything. Everything was exactly the way it was and should be, with the addition of a laundry basket in the corner with a Post-It note reading "Old Clothes Pending to Goodwill." Ash looked into the basket and frowned sadly.

"No," he said, pulling out a short-sleeved button-up shirt, colored white at the sleeves but blue on the body. This was the shirt he wore when he'd first started his journey; he'd worn it all throughout Kanto, the Orange Islands and finally Johto before he'd come home and changed his outfit before going to Hoenn. Ash held the garment up close, seeing all the tiny holes from the badges he'd kept in this shirt. It brought a smile to his face. While most other Trainers had kept their badges in a badge case or a bag even, Ash had tacked them up on the inside of his shirt so that when someone wanted to know who he was or something, he could open his shirt and flash the badges like a cop or something. It made him feel unique among Trainers, even if it was because of something so trivial. Besides, Ash always thought it made him look super-cool.

"No _way _she's throwing this out," Ash took off his backpack and hoodie and placed his arms through the armholes. The shirt still fit, although it was a bit snugger now. Ash headed out the door and down the stairs, rejoining his friends in the living room.

"What's this Ash?" asked Iris. She and Axew were looking at a small trophy shaped like a Poké Ball with wings on either side.

"What, that? Oh, that's just my Orange League Trophy."

"What's the Orange League?" asked Iris.

"It's a Pokémon League they have in the Orange Islands just south of Kanto," Ash explained. "First you have to earn a badge from four gyms on four different islands before you can compete against the Champion, Drake. It was pretty cool, actually."

"Wait, you battled the Champion?" Alexa asked, "So this trophy means you won, right?"

"Mm-hmm." Ash nodded and pointed to the mantelpiece. "The picture from of me and the Pokémon I used in that battle's up there."

"Wow," Iris marveled at the photo of Ash and his old team. "There's Charizard," she indicated, pointing to the large orange dragon-like Pokémon.

"Yup."

"And there's Pikachu."

"Yup."

_"__Pika pika."_

"And… no way!" Iris turned to Ash. "You have a _Lapras?!_ That's amazing!"

Cilan and Alexa came over to look. "I had no idea you had such a rare Pokémon on your team Ash," Cilan said. "Congrats for being able to catch one."

"Well… here's the thing," Ash explained. "I don't have Lapras anymore."

"Huh?" Iris looked at him, confused. "That's such a rare and powerful Pokémon Ash. I don't get why you'd give it up."

Ash shrugged. "Lapras was actually a baby when I caught it. It'd gotten separated from its family who'd just left it behind."

"Awwww!" went Iris. "How terrible!"

Cilan nodded his head. "It's terrible how something so unfortunate befell that poor thing."

Ash nodded. "It was. After I ended up catching it, Lapras actually helped me earn two of my Orange League Badges and helped me out a lot against Drake."

"If it's such a good Pokémon, why'd you release it?" asked Alexa.

Ash smiled at her, remembering how it happened. "One day its family showed up again and it wanted to go back," he told her. "As a Trainer, I had to do what was best for it. I'm glad I did it too, because Lapras being happy with its family is much more important than what it could do for me, y'know?"

A nostalgic yet sad smile crossed his face. "That's how it works when you have to release a Pokémon. You don't want to do it, but you have to think about what _it _wants. As much as I wanted to keep Lapras with me, I couldn't because I'd be putting my wants and needs first, and I wouldn't let myself call me a Pokémon Trainer if I did that. I mean, if I'd kept Lapras with me it probably would've been unhappy and missing its family. I couldn't do that to it." Ash looked up at the picture on the mantelpiece. "I'm sure Lapras is much happier now swimming around with its family than it would've been in a dinky pond somewhere at Professor Oak's lab."

Cilan closed his eyes, folded his arms and nodded in agreement. "Good call," he said, those two words summing up his feelings on the matter.

Alexa nodded too, smiling. "That was very mature of you, Ash."

Iris didn't say anything. She didn't _do _anything except stare at Ash and wonder how someone who'd acted like a kid in Unova could've been so thoughtful and mature this whole time.

"Dinner everyone!" called Delia from the kitchen, "I hope you all like pot roast!"

# # #

"I swear Mom, you have to be tied with Brock for the best cook in all of Kanto!" Ash extolled his mother. He was sitting back in his chair now that the meal was over, patting his bulging belly.

Cilan looked over. He'd once heard about Brock from the time Ash's old traveling companion Dawn had visited them in Unova. "So is there a chance Iris and I will get to _meet _this Brock?" he asked, "I'd like to get the chance to compare how good my cooking is to his and maybe even exchange some recipes."

Ash pondered for a moment. "He lives in Pewter City. I'm sure we could all visit him there if we wanted to. It'd be nice to check up on my old friends again."

"Oh! That reminds me!" said Delia all of a sudden, "Ash, your friend Misty called earlier this morning for you. She said something about the Whirl Island Cup Tournament being held again."

"What? Misty called?" Ash leaned forward, excited. He hadn't heard from Misty in a while so it'd be nice to see her again. Her _and _Brock. "But that's odd," he added, "I thought the Whirl Cup was held every three years. It's too early for it to be held again so soon."

Iris leaned forward. "Who's Misty?"

Ash looked at her. "Another one of my friends. She and Brock were the first two people to travel with me."

Iris looked at Ash. "How many people have you traveled with?"

Ash thought for a moment. "Well, there's been Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Dawn and you two guys."

"So that's eight in total," murmured Cilan. "You've sure had a lot of adventures, Ash."

"Yeah," Ash remarked. Turning to his mother quickly, he added, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Delia put her hand to her mouth. "Must've slipped my mind!"

Ash groaned. He knew his mother had a good heart, but he wished she'd tell him about these kinds of things. He excused himself from the table and went into the living room to call his friend Misty in Cerulean City.

She picked up on the third ring. _"Hello?" _Taking a second to recognize the face on the screen, she beamed when she recognized him. _"Ash! How are you?"_

"I'm good," Ash replied. "My mom told me you called about something in the Whirl Islands?"

_"__Yeah," _Misty answered, _"The Whirl Cup Tournament's being held again. I was thinking maybe you and I could compete in it."_

"But isn't it a little early?"

Misty shrugged. _"I don't know why they're holding it so early, but they are. You up for it or not?"_

"Count me in!" Ash agreed. "That sounds like a whole lot of fun!" He smiled, remembering the last time he competed in the event. This time however, he'd have more Water Pokémon to assemble a team from. "Is anybody else coming?" he asked.

_"__I'm not sure," _Misty answered. _"I sent a line to May in case she was interested, although she wasn't sure about which Pokémon she'd use. But I think she's coming though."_

"I'll definitely be there," Ash promised. "Did you tell Brock about it?"

Misty nodded. _"He's in. Pretty much all of us are coming, which reminds me: Who's Dawn?"_

"Someone I met in Sinnoh," Ash briefly explained. "She actually gave me one of my Pokémon. See you soon!"

_"__See you-" _Misty began, but Ash in his excitement had hung up the phone before she finished.

Running back into the dining room, he explained the situation to Iris, Cilan and Alexa. The first two accepted as they were headed to Johto anyway, but Alexa declined. "I have to get back to Kalos," she explained. "I need to send these pictures to my editor."

"That's unfortunate," mused Cilan. "It was so nice travelling with you Alexa."

Alexa nodded appreciatively in Cilan's direction. "That's so kind of you," she thanked. "But my editor's not the forgiving type, so that's why I need to get back to Kalos as soon as possible." Her Helioptile, which had wrapped itself around her neck, expressed its sadness at not being able to stay further. However, Delia invited them all to stay overnight as by her reasoning it was too late out for anyone to start traveling again. They all retired to bed that evening, though as usual it took Ash some time before he could actually fall asleep. The thought of all his friends meeting one another was something he couldn't just put down so easily.

Meanwhile on the rooftop above, a redheaded woman with hair shaped like a whip retracted a headphone from her ear. "Did you hear that?" she asked to a man with medium length lavender hair.

The man, named James, nodded. "Clear as a bell Jess. The twerps have all gone to bed. Now's the perfect time to grab Pikachu!"

"Hold it!" uttered their team's talking Meowth in a hoarse whisper. "If we go in dere, de twoip'll just send us blastin' off again. I say we wait until he's distracted after competin' in dat Whirl Cup Toinament!"

Jessie and James considered the proposition. It _was _likely that the twerp would merely send them blasting off again. Even trying to sneak Pikachu out and away from him was likely to fail as it could always wake up and alert everyone in the house to their presence by making noise. Finally the two of them acquiesced. "Fine Meowth," said Jessie. "But you're making the plan for how to catch Pikachu once the time comes."

"Don't worry about dat," replied the feline. "'Cause I've got it all figured out. C'mon! Now we gotta go to Johto an' get to da Whoil Islands before the twoip does!"

With that he bounded off the roof, landing ever so quietly on the fence before jumping down. Jessie and James, lacking Meowth's feline physical capabilities, simply jumped down and scaled the fence as they followed their devious partner in crime towards their hot air balloon parked nearby. James lit the burner and they sailed off towards the Kanto region port in Vermillion City.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter Two. Enjoy your read. And remember, you're perfectly welcome to review.  
**

Chapter 2 – _With Friends Like These, Who Needs Foes?_

The Ketchum household in the morning was a lovely one. Within minutes Delia had places set at the table for everyone. Plates were piled high with waffles, pancakes and breakfast pastries that along with her other recipes made her reputation as one of the best cooks in town known.

A small drop of drool ran down Ash and Pikachu's cheeks as he stared down all of his usual favorites. This brought Ash back to the days of before he'd become a Pokémon Trainer. Back then, waking up to food this good happened all the time, although it was never in quantities this large. Ash recalled the last time he'd had such a bountiful feast was when he'd returned home for the Indigo League Conference at the Indigo Plateau.

He was about to reach for a fork and knife when his mother's Mr. Mime slapped him on the back of the head. "Ow!" Ash complained, rubbing the offended area tenderly. "What was _that _for, Mime?"

"Your friends aren't up yet," reminded his mother. "It's good manners for you to wait for them."

"Yeah," moaned Ash. "But that could take forever." He slumped back in his seat. He didn't have to wait long: Within moments Cilan and Iris were bounding down the stairs. Ash frowned when he saw them dressed in their daytime clothes. He'd only come down in his shirt and boxers. Alexa meanwhile, was nowhere to be found.

"She left a note," explained Delia when Ash asked about it. "Saying she'd gone ahead already and left for Kalos. It was nice of her to let us know. I thought I'd have to set an extra plate."

_She could've waited until I was done with the Whirl Cup to go back, _Ash thought. He then chastened himself for this thought, remembering what Alexa had said about her editor. Pikachu meanwhile was disheartened; he'd wanted to say goodbye to Helioptile.

"Don't worry about it," Ash soothed, patting Pikachu on the head. "I'm sure we'll see them again once we get to Kalos." Pikachu brightened at this and promptly returned to ogling the feast that sat in front of him and his Trainer.

Iris and Cilan slowly seated themselves at the table. In a rare moment of forethought, Ash let them help themselves first and was rewarded for his consideration when his mother set down his favorite syrup on the table.

Fifteen minutes later, the massive feast had been vanquished. Iris and Cilan stared nervously across the table at Ash, who sat in his chair nonchalantly patting his protruding stomach, with Pikachu doing the exact same right next to him.

"Holy moly, Ash…" was all Cilan managed to utter.

"Huh?" murmured the ten-year-old. "Oh. Don't worry about that too much. Pikachu and I've had big meals like this before." He turned to his partner. "Am I right?"

"_Pika pika." (Yep)._

Iris and Cilan exchanged nervous glances. Later, while Cilan fed their Pokémon Ash heard the phone ring and answered it. "What's up?" he asked the redhead on the screen.

"_Brock and I are in Vermillion City already," _Misty replied. _"We're here with May, Max and Dawn. You guys need to hurry up."_

"We'll be there as soon as we can!" Ash replied confidently, about to hang up the phone.

"_Wait!" _Misty cried out. Ash froze at the last second. "What's wrong Misty?" he asked.

"_What's wrong is _you _hanging up the phone before I tell you the boat leaves at noon!" _snapped Misty at his lack of thought. _"_That's _what's wrong!"_

Ash sheepishly hung up the phone and went back outside. "We're off to Vermillion City!" he announced.

"With no backpack?" asked Cilan. "That's pretty gung-ho of you Ash."

"Uh…" Ash meekly felt his back as he realized his backpack wasn't there. To his good fortune, Delia handed it to him. "I packed it full of fresh you-know-what!" she informed him cheerfully before shutting the door. Ash held his backpack, standing there mortified that his mother would just blurt something like that out in polite company.

Iris walked up beside him. "What's she talking about?"

"N-n-nothing!" Ash hurriedly said, strapping his backpack on. "Let's hurry up and go! The boat from Vermillion City leaves at noon!" With that, he began running with Pikachu on his shoulder and Iris and Cilan running behind desperate to catch up with him.

"Ash, wait up!" complained Iris. "It's only nine o' five!"

"So? We'll get there early then!" Ash replied.

"_Such_ a little kid…" Iris panted in-between breaths. But she needn't worry for too long. Within moments Ash was leaning against a tree with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

Iris jogged up alongside him, completely unexhausted while Cilan lagged farther behind. "This is ridiculous," she said. "Don't you know how far away Vermillion City is?"

Ash froze. Iris facepalmed. "Don't tell me you don't know…?"

"I'm not saying anything," was all Ash said.

Iris flung herself at him, her hands outstretched to grab hold of his neck. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she roared. But before she could strangle the life out of Ash, Cilan reached out a hand and restrained her.

"Now now," he said, waving his finger (as he often said and did). "There's no reason to get angry."

"He doesn't even know where a place in his _home region_ _is_!" Iris pointed out. "Who doesn't know something like that?"

"In Ash's defense, he hasn't been here in a while. And besides, he's only ten years old. Do _you _know how far Icirrus City is from the Village of Dragons?" Iris opened her mouth to reply, but clammed up when she had no rebuttal. "Besides," Cilan continued, "It's always best to attack the _problem_ rather than the person." He walked over to Ash and helped him up before pulling out a phone and opening the Maps app. "From this map, Vermillion City's just a couple of days away."

"But the boat leaves at noon!" complained Ash. "We won't make it there in time!"

"We will," replied Cilan, "If we work together." He turned to Iris. "You have a Dragonite, do you not?"

"I do!" Iris brightened up immediately, taking a Poké Ball out from behind her back.

"Then all we need to do is fly to Vermillion City on its back," Cilan clapped his hands together in a job-well-done fashion. "There, see? As long as we keep our cool and don't attack each other, we can easily solve our problems."

"Yeah, I guess so," murmured Iris, although she seemed to stick with blaming Ash. Regardless, her expression changed as she threw Dragonite's Poké Ball up into the air. "Come on out Dragonite! We need you!"

The large light orange dragon emerged in a flash of blue-white light. It towered above the three of them at seven feet two inches, almost as tall as Ash's Charizard.

"Dragonite," said Iris gently. "We need to get to Vermillion City quickly. Do you mind taking the three of us on your back?"

The big Pokémon nodded and stooped low enough for the three of them to board. With a small bit of difficulty, it managed to generate lift and depart from the ground. With Cilan giving it directions, Iris' Dragonite took off in the direction of Vermillion City. As they got close enough, Ash could see the figures of Misty, May, Max, Dawn and Brock on the wharf. The five of them raised their hands and waved as they saw them. Ash saw their hands and immediately waved back.

Iris' Dragonite landed as gracefully as it could manage. Max immediately ran over to it.

"Oh _wow, _a _Dragonite!_" he marveled with awe. He turned to Iris. "Is it yours?"

Iris nodded as she and the others disembarked. "Can I pet it?" Max asked.

"Probably not," discouraged Iris. "I don't think Dragonite likes to be petted that much."

"Awwww…" Max looked down at the ground, disappointed. His sister meanwhile, was much more jovial. "Hey Ash!" she called over from where she, Misty, Dawn and Brock stood by the wharf. As Iris recalled Dragonite back into its Poké Ball, the three girls and the older boy all ran over to meet their longtime friend. Ash smiled and ran towards them, intending to meet them halfway. Pikachu hopped down from Ash's shoulder to greet Dawn's Piplup. The two of them twirled around, holding each other's hands. As Ash exchanged greetings with his old companions, Iris' Axew hopped down from her hair and ran to join the two of them. Ash was about to introduce Iris to Misty and May when Dawn held up a hand to stop him.

"No need to worry," she told him, using a phrase she had a habit of saying. "I already told Misty and May all about you. I mean, I felt I had to since May was nice enough to introduce Misty and me!"

The redheaded girl mentioned cast a smile at Ash, which he returned. "How've you been, Ash?" she asked him.

"Pretty good," Ash replied. "I traveled to a whole bunch of new regions and caught a whole bunch of new Pokémon."

"Good," Misty replied. It was only conversational filler, but it served nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Brock and Cilan shook hands. "So you're the one who's been cooking for Ash after I left," grinned Brock. Cilan nodded.

As soon as she heard the subject of cooking, Dawn brightened up. "You need to try some of Cilan's cooking Brock!" she urged him. "It's really good! It's even as good as yours!"

Brock's eyebrows shot up. "_Well,_" he murmured at Cilan. "In that case, I look forward to trying some of your dishes. Maybe we could exchange recipes."

"Definitely," Cilan agreed. "And for what it's worth, I can't wait to try some of your cooking too." The two of them smiled at each other.

"Does anybody know when the ship gets here?" asked Ash impatiently.

"I told you ten minutes ago that it leaves at noon!" Misty scolded. "How could you forget that?!"

"I was too excited thinking about all the battles I'll be in at the Whirl Cup!" Ash protested. Misty was quiet for a moment. "This is so _classic _you," she murmured crossly.

"Hold on a moment!" Ash replied. "You said it _leaves _at noon! You didn't say anything about when it would get in!" He turned to everyone else, hoping they'd get his back. He frowned when he saw them shaking their heads. "What?" he asked.

"Ash," said Brock, "If she said the boat leaves at noon, it's implied it'll get here around noon as well." Ash groaned, defeated.

Dawn suddenly clapped her hands together. "I know!" she said. "Let's all battle! That way we can pass the time until the ship gets here!"

"I like _that _idea!" Ash agreed.

"Me too!" said Max. "Besides Ash, I want to see what new Pokémon you've caught recently."

Everyone else agreed. Given that Ash's new Pokémon were what everyone wanted to see, it was only natural that they make him go first. But they needn't have forced him: He volunteered.

"Alright," he looked around at his circle of challengers. "Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go," offered May. The others backed away far enough to give the two of them some battling room. Brock himself held up his hands to officiate.

"This'll be a one-on-one battle between Ash and May. The battle is over when one Trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle." He held up his two hands. "Let the battle begin!"

May threw a Poké Ball. "Venusaur, go!" A flash of blue-white light flowed out of the Poké Ball before taking the form of a dark blue dinosaur-like Pokémon with a giant flower on its back.

"Venusaur, huh?" Ash mused. He reached around his back to take a Poké Ball off his belt.

"Ash!" called Iris. "Don't be a kid! Use a Pokémon with a Type advantage!"

Ash stumbled, almost falling. "What the heck, Iris?!" he asked. "I know what to do!"

"No you don't!" Iris responded. "Most times when you battled in Unova, you did something stupid and chose someone with a disadvantage! Don't do that this time!"

Ash shook his head from side to side. Iris probably thought she was smarter than him, despite the fact he'd been doing this _much _longer than her.

He felt a tap at his leg and he looked down at his friend Pikachu. _"Pika pika pika pi," _said the little mouse. Ash smiled at his old friend. Pikachu was always cheering him up when someone else got him down. Just now he'd told him, _Don't let her bother you. You've been at this much longer than she has, so you've got more experience than her and you know what you're doing. You've got this, okay?_

"Thanks Pikachu," Ash smiled. He jerked his thumb towards May's Venusaur. "You want to go?"

"_Pika pika-pi." (Nah. Everyone wants to see your new Pokémon, not me.)_

"Alright," Ash acquiesced, taking a Poké Ball off the back of his belt and throwing it. "Pignite, I choose you!"

Another blue-white flash of light appeared and took the form of a bipedal orange pig covered in flame patterns. Upon appearing out in the open, it spewed some flames, indicating its readiness to fight.

"Now _that's _a good choice," said Iris matter-of-factly, folding her arms. "For once he's using his head."

"Uhhh…" began Misty, "When did _this_ start?"

"Yeah," replied Brock. "As far as I know Ash _never _uses his head."

"Hey!" Ash called over from his position. "I can _hear _you, you know!"

"Oh good, you can hear!" chortled Misty. Like most people, she enjoyed laughing at Ash's expense. Turning back to Iris, she added. "But in all seriousness, Ash has made good calls before."

"You're kidding right?" asked Iris. "Whenever he battled in Unova, Ash always had this thing of choosing a Pokémon with a Type _dis_advantage. It's _so _dumb! I don't know why he does it."

Misty smiled at her. "Believe me Iris," she told her. "That's just what you get when you travel with Ash. I know it must be frustrating, but usually Ash manages to pull through. Don't worry. He usually has a good reason for choosing the Pokémon he does."

Iris huffed. "I doubt it," she remarked.

Meanwhile, May was intrigued by Ash's Pignite. "So, that's a Pignite huh?" She took out her Pokédex and looked it up.

"_Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokémon. The more it eats, the more fuel it has to make the fire in its stomach stronger. This fills it with even more power."_

Dawn smiled. Unlike the others, she'd gotten to see Ash's Unova Pokémon when she went there to help him train for the Unova League, so seeing Pignite was nothing new to her.

Brock threw both his hands down. "Begin!"

"Venusaur, use Razor Leaf!"

"Pignite, use Ember!"

Responding to their Trainers' commands, the two Pokémon launched their attacks. Venusaur sent a flurry of leaves out of the plant on its back, and Pignite shot fiery orange embers through its snout. The two attacks met in midair, but as Pignite's was the superior type, the leaves burned to crisps.

Ash smiled at this, but only for a second as Venusaur suddenly charged through the veil of falling leaves and rammed into Pignite, sending it sprawling.

"Not bad," mused Max at his sister's use of tactic. "May used Venusaur's Razor Leaf as a distraction so it could use Tackle to catch Pignite off-guard."

Cilan nodded his head approvingly. "May seems to really know how to use her Pokémon's attacks to her advantage."

"While _Ash _fell for it like the little kid he is," put in Iris. "Just like in Unova."

Ash heard this and clenched his teeth. Iris was getting on his nerves with all her talk of how amateurish he was. _I'll show her, _he thought crossly. "Come on Pignite!" he urged the rotund pig lying on its back. "Get up!"

Pignite struggled for a bit, but managed it. "Awesome!" Ash extolled. "Now use Flame Charge!"

"_Pignite!" _chimed Pignite as it stomped its feet, getting faster and faster until it was enveloped in a ball of flame. Enhanced by its self-immolation, it lowered its head and charged towards Venusaur.

"Venusaur, dodge it!" called May. The Seed Pokémon jumped to the right, out of the way of the oncoming attack.

"Pignite!" called Ash, "Change direction, quick!"

Pignite turned to get back on course, but Venusaur simply moved out of the way again. Pignite missed completely, falling on its stomach.

"_Wow,_" muttered Iris. "Fail."

Ash clenched his jaw at Iris' derisive remark. _Shut up Iris, _he thought. _I didn't win eight badges in Unova for nothing! _Pikachu looked up at Ash, noticing his frustrated expression. It make him nervous. Even if he was annoyed by Iris' biting comments, he was still in a battle and had to stay focused.

Ash thrust his arm forward. "Pignite, use Fire Pledge!" he ordered.

"Venusaur, quick! Use Vine Whip to stop it!" May called.

"_Vena!" _Two long, dark green vines extended out of the plant on Venusaur's back and wrapped around Pignite's leg before it could launch its attack. Without hesitating, Venusaur launched Pignite into the air, much to Ash's surprise.

"Now Venusaur!" called May, "Petal Dance!"

Venusaur bent its two front legs down and launched what looked like an all-pink version of Razor Leaf from the plant on its back, which swirled around Pignite while the latter was in midair. Ash cringed as the attack struck Pignite repeatedly before it fell to the ground. "Pignite!"

The orange pig got up slowly, but May wasn't done. "Now Venusaur, Tackle!"

Ash grinned. She'd gotten cocky. "Quick Pignite, use Flamethrower!"

Pignite immediately got up and shot a stream of fire into Venusaur, effectively impeding the Grass and Poison-Type Pokémon's attack. Venusaur winced as the hot flames burned its body. When they subsided, it stood panting. It may not have fainted, but as Pignite had the Type advantage, chances were it would soon.

"Yes! Ha-ha!" Ash clapped his hands together, celebrating his newly-gained lead and immediately forgetting his irritation over Iris' bothersome remarks. Finally it seemed the battle was going his way.

"Okay Pignite!" he called. "Finish it with Flame Charge!"

"_Piiiiiiiiigniiiiiiiiite!" _The Fire Pig stomped the ground with increasing tempo until its body was once again consumed in flames. It charged toward Venusaur who was still coping with the damage from Flamethrower.

"Venusaur, dodge it!" May called out. But it was no good. Venusaur had taken so much damage from Pignite's last attack that it couldn't move quickly enough. May gulped as Pignite struck Venusaur, knocking it back a few inches towards her. "Venusaur!" she called. "Are you alright?"

Venusaur groaned and tried to move. To May's relief, it slowly but surely managed to stand up. But the damage from Pignite's Flame Charge had been dealt, and just as May was sure Venusaur would hang in there for another round, it collapsed in a heap in front of her.

Brock held up a hand towards Ash. "Venusaur is unable to battle. Pignite wins. The victory goes to Ash."

"Venusaur!" May ran over to her fallen Pokémon. She rubbed it gently, speaking to it in a low voice. "Thanks a lot," she told it appreciatively. "You were great. Now take a good rest." She held out its Poké Ball and recalled it in a red flash of light. Ash did the same with Pignite. "Great job, Pignite." He said to the Poké Ball before pocketing it.

May moved to the side to allow someone else a chance. Dawn and Piplup readily stepped forward. Even though they'd already seen Ash's new Pokémon when they'd visited him in Unova, they still wanted to see how far he'd come. Besides, battling was great fun and both of them were always up for having a good time.

"Alright!" Dawn pumped her fist in the air as she stepped up to take May's place. "Get ready Ash!" she called. "I'm coming at you with everything I've got!"

"Wouldn't ask for anything less!" Ash called back. Dawn always had a way of firing him up.

_Hmmmm, _thought the Sinnoh girl. _What Pokémon should I use? Obviously someone strong of course, but the question is, who?_

She took a Poké Ball out from behind her back. _I know who, _she thought. She threw the Poké Ball. "Mamoswine, _spoooot-light!_" A flash of blue-white light revealed a giant four-legged mammoth-like Pokémon, much bigger than Dawn or Piplup. "Your turn Ash!" called Dawn.

"Gotcha!" Ash called back. _Hmmm, _he thought. _Mamoswine's an Ice and Ground-type Pokémon, so I should choose somebody who'll be a good matchup against that. _He paused then. _But do I _really _want to keep battling that way? There's more to battling than just Type advantage. But then again, Type advantage has been proven again and again to be one of the most effective ways to… Agghh! _He began scratching his head furiously in his frustrated attempt to make up his mind. _C'mon! Why am I focusing so much on this? I should just hurry up and send someone out!_

"Ash?" Ash looked up to see who was snapping him out of his state. He saw everyone looking curiously at him. "Are you okay?" asked Dawn nervously. "You seem to be… what's the word?"

"Perseverating?" suggested Brock.

"Yeah, perseverating," Dawn replied, accepting it.

"I'm fine," replied Ash. "It's just that it's hard to choose a Pokémon."

While everyone else looked slightly more at ease, Ash resumed thinking. He glanced over at Mamoswine. Like Venusaur, it was a large one and it made Ash think about balancing out size advantage with Type advantage. But he'd already used that approach with Pignite, so he wanted to try something different here.

"Alright!" Ash grabbed a Poké Ball off his belt and threw it. "Snivy, I choose you!" A blue-white flash of light revealed a two-legged, slightly serpentine Pokémon, green in color and with a regal look.

Brock raised an eyebrow. As usual, Ash was doing something seemingly foolish.

"Ash!" called Iris from the sidelines. "You're doing it again! Don't you know a Grass-type like Snivy's weak against an Ice-type like Mamoswine?"

"Hold on a moment Iris," interrupted Cilan. "While Snivy may be weak against Ice-types, Mamoswine's also a Ground-type, which a Grass-type like Snivy's strong against. I think Ash is trying to challenge himself with how he wins this battle: He's balancing Type advantage with disadvantage here. Ice takes Grass, but Grass takes Ground."

Iris folded her arms. The logic was sound, but she still didn't like it. In her mind, it only made sense to send out a Pokémon with a Type disadvantage when it was the only one left in your party after everyone else had fainted. To do so beforehand was just idiotic. While traveling with Ash, she'd seen him make this foolish choice time and time again. She wished he would just wise up and be logical for a change.

Brock raised his hands. "Begin!"

"Mamoswine, use Ice Shard!" Dawn ordered. From her travels with Ash, she was expecting him to recognize what she was doing. To her surprise, he didn't.

"Snivy, use Leaf Storm!" Ash called. In response, Snivy jumped into the air and began spinning, generating a massive tornado of leaves around her.

Dawn reacted quickly. "Quick Mamoswine, swallow Ice Shard!"

As Snivy directed her attack against it, the large mammoth opened wide and swallowed the small white ball of cold it had conjured. Immediately the fur on its back stood up straight, turning to ice.

Brock nodded as Misty and May were confounded. "Whoa," remarked Misty. "What's going on there?"

Brock turned to explain to them all. "When Ash, Dawn and I were traveling in Sinnoh, one of Ash's Pokémon discovered by accident that when a Pokémon swallows an attack with the same Type as itself, its power increases."

"Whoa," May replied. "I should try that."

"Now Mamoswine, Take Down!" Dawn ordered. Mamoswine immediately lowered its head, pawed the ground and charged forward toward the oncoming barrage of leaves.

"Whoa, what's she doing?!" asked Max, exasperated. "Mamoswine's gonna get hurt!"

Brock put his finger to his chin. "Keep watching," he said. Max looked at Brock for a moment, wondering just what the older boy was talking about. He then turned back to continue watching and was oddly surprised: Mamoswine charged directly into the Leaf Storm attack, dispersing it and sending Snivy flying.

"Ah!" Ash's mind raced as Snivy fell through the air. "Quick Snivy, use Vine Whip to catch yourself!"

"_Sniiiiiiivy!" _the small green serpent released two vines from the small of its back, sending them down towards the ground, catching itself and breaking its fall. However, Ash saw it wince upon landing: apparently it'd taken some damage from Take Down. But the odd thing was, Snivy looked like it'd taken more damage than one would expect a Normal-type move like Take Down to do.

"I don't get it," Max said, scratching his head. "How was Mamoswine able to withstand a Grass-type attack when it's part Ground-type? And why is Snivy hurt more? Isn't Take Down a Normal-type attack?"

"The answer," said Brock, "Lies in Mamoswine's icy fur."

"That's right," put in Misty, catching on. "Because Mamoswine swallowed Ice Shard, its Ice-type power's increased and given it that ice-covered fur."

"Precisely," replied Brock. "Mamoswine's icy fur was acting as armor against Snivy's Leaf Storm attack. Because it's all over Mamoswine, it's protecting it from any damage it would take from Grass-type attacks. By having Mamoswine encase itself in icy fur, Dawn was using its Ice-type advantage to compensate for its Ground-type weakness."

"Smart!" said Iris. "But wait, why didn't Ash see that coming if it was one of _his _Pokémon that discovered this?"

Brock shrugged. "He probably thought she would do something else. In any case, I'd say Dawn chose her move well."

"As would I," admitted Cilan. "Dawn's battling skills have improved since we last saw her in Unova. Her inventive use of Ice Shard is a chilled refreshing take!"

"Huh?" asked Brock turning to him. "What?"

"He does that," Iris explained, embarrassed. "He's a Pokémon Connoisseur, and that's what they do."

"To be specific," Cilan elaborated, "We evaluate Pokémon battles."

"Ah," replied the others, turning their attentions back to the battle. But Misty was concerned. "Usually it's _Ash _pulling off clever moves like that," she murmured. "So why isn't he doing that here?"

"Huh?" asked Iris. "Since when is Ash known for pulling off clever moves?"

Misty turned to Iris. "Well, back when I traveled with him, Ash would always pull off something clever and inventive, usually in some kind of unorthodox way." She turned back to watch Ash and Snivy. "But from how he's battling here, he's just going straight in, focusing on strength alone. He did that too with Pignite against May's Venusaur."

"Yeah…" murmured May. "Back in Hoenn, Ash was pulling off some pretty brilliant stuff. I even wondered once where he came up with it."

Max frowned. "Yeah, it's like his battle style's been dumbed down."

Cilan pondered for a moment. "In Unova, a lot of Ash's battles were focused on strength," he mused. "It's possible he's battling like this because that's how he's used to battling with the Pokémon he caught there."

Ash meanwhile, was trying to drown out the sound of their voices. They didn't know it, but they were getting to him. He could take criticism, but this for some reason was bothering him. He was battling the way he always battled, wasn't he? _Doesn't matter, _he thought. _I'll show them! _"Snivy, use Leaf Blade to shave off Mamoswine's ice fur!"

"_Snivy!" _Snivy's tail turned light green as she charged towards Mamoswine.

"Mamoswine, aim another Ice Shard at Snivy!" called Dawn.

But in that split second, Ash called out another command. "Snivy, slice through the Ice Shard with Leaf Blade when it comes at you!"

Mamoswine opened its mouth and shot out multiple shards of ice in succession. Each time Snivy swung its tail, slicing the attack to pieces. She then jumped into the air and put herself into a spin as gravity took hold of her and brought her down upon Mamoswine.

But Dawn was ready. "Mamoswine, use Take Down just before Snivy hits you!"

_Maamoooooo… swine!" _The big, burly, literally mammoth Pokémon reared its head back and collided it against Snivy's just as the small serpentine creature struck down with Leaf Blade. Snivy landed with a _thud! _in front of Ash, who was surprised his attack didn't work. Mamoswine meanwhile didn't move at all, and its Trainer stood there shouting its praises.

"Way to go Mamoswine! You _rule!_"

"_Mamoswine!"_

Ash ignored them. "Snivy, can you get up?"

"_Snivy…" _Slowly but surely, Snivy stood up. "Yeah, I _knew_ you had more fight left in you!" Ash extolled. Snivy narrowed her eyes at Mamoswine, wondering how she could take the bigger one down.

"Use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered. Snivy jumped into the air and spun her tail, conjuring up a tornado of leaves.

"Mamoswine, counter it with Ancient Power!" Dawn urged. The mammoth responded by conjuring a number of large rocks glowing white around the edge. It flung them at Snivy, just as the smaller Pokémon launched her Leaf Storm attack. The two attacks collided, but Mamoswine's rocks were larger than Snivy's leaves, and thus Ancient Power broke through Leaf Storm, striking Snivy head on. Ash cringed as he saw the small green serpentine fall to the ground. Meanwhile, even though Mamoswine's attack had been larger, Snivy's had been greater in number, and thus the big Ice-type found itself bombarded by a barrage of leaves.

"Snivy, you've _gotta _stand up!" Ash urged.

"Stay strong Mamoswine!" called Dawn.

Meanwhile, as the two of them waged their battle, Misty looked over at Ash curiously, one of her eyebrows raised. _What's he doing? _she thought. _Ash isn't battling like he used to. He's just pushing forward thinking he can win with strength. I thought he would've grown out of battling like that by now._

Brock was thinking the same thing. _Come on Ash, show some strategy! You need to have come up with something clever like you always do! _

Even May and Max were noticing it. "Hey May, is it me or is Ash battling like an…" Max finished prematurely, hoping he wouldn't have to say what he was thinking while hoping his sister understood.

"…amateur?" May finished her brother's sentence. "Yeah, kinda. What's going on? He didn't battle like this in Hoenn."

Brock nodded. "Usually he'd come up with something clever that his opponent wouldn't see coming, but he's not doing anything like that at all."

"Huh?" Iris and Cilan looked over, confused. "Are you saying Ash actually battled _smart _once upon a time?" asked Iris.

"Well… not _smart _exactly… more like clever," Brock looked to Misty, May and Max to affirm his choice of words and they nodded. "Exactly," Misty agreed. "Clever."

"That's not how he battled in Unova," murmured Iris. "He made rash choices and even chose Pokémon with a type _disadvantage_."

"Well," Brock began, "That's Ash all over. That's just what he does. What _we're_ saying is, even if his Pokémon was disadvantaged due to Type, he'd come up with some clever way to turn things around."

"That's right," put in Max. "And it often involved doing something that either seemed crazy or that nobody ever expected him to do, like when he battled Tate and Liza at the Mossdeep Gym, he had Pikachu use Thunder on itself and Swellow for them to wear it as armor (sort of) so that Swellow could break through Tate's Solrock's Solar Beam and Liza's Lunatone's Light Screen."

"Wait, that _happened?" _Misty asked, looking at them quizzically. "That doesn't make any sense."

"What, the Thunder Armor?" replied Brock. "Yeah, none of us have any idea how that happened."

"All we know is that it _did,_" May continued. "We all thought Ash was crazy for doing it-"

"-which he probably _was_-" interjected Max.

"-but when we saw Pikachu and Swellow glowing like that and how wearing Thunder as armor helped them, we were mindblown."

Iris and Cilan looked at their four peers like they were crazy. "Are you _seriously _telling me that Ash has done things like that?" asked Iris. "What a little _kid!_"

"It _does _seem like something highly unlikely to occur," Cilan put in. "I can't conceive of any possible way how that could work."

"Neither could we," Brock retorted. "But the more we thought about it, the more it felt like our heads were going to explode, so we just stopped trying." He turned to Iris and Cilan. "Were you guys saying he was battling solely with strength in Unova?"

The two of them nodded. "If Ash ever battled cleverly, we never got to see it," Iris told them.

"His battling style was actually pretty straightforward," Cilan added. "He just kept pressing on through, even when it seemed foolish to do so."

Ash scowled at his friends. "Just so you guys know, I can _hear _you!"

"Good!" Iris called back. "You can take this as constructive criticism!"

Misty giggled to herself. Iris and Ash arguing took her back to earlier times when she would trade barbs with him when the two of them weren't getting along. _The more things change, _she thought, _The more they stay the same._ Looking over at Ash now, she frowned. _But in Ash's case, it's not a good thing. He's more reckless and acting without the experience he gained throughout our travels. What's happened to him?"_

Back on the battlefield, Mamoswine and Snivy had both recovered from each other's attacks. Snivy had gotten up, but she looked like she would keel over any minute. Even though Ancient Power was a Rock-type move, Snivy had still taken damage as it had been a larger attack hitting a smaller body. By contrast, Mamoswine seemed to have barely taken any damage at all, even though it had been struck by Snivy's best Grass-type move. As it was part Ground-type, one would've thought _it_ would be the one having trouble. But its Ice-type attributes were serving it well, as the majority of Mamoswine's fur was still iced over. Being of the inferior type, Snivy's Leaf Storm attack had only shaved off a few bits here and there.

A concerned Ash took a good look at Snivy. Her body only had a few scratches, but he knew she'd taken damage from those Ice Shards. Even though she'd cut through them with her tail, simply touching the ice - even through an attack - was enough to deal damage in small amounts. Right now he needed to check to see she wasn't too badly hurt.

"Snivy," he said to her, "How're you feeling?"

"_Snivy," _she answered. Her voice was weary and between breaths, and she looked incredibly tired, but her eyes were still determined and they said to Ash, _Don't take me out of this yet._

Ash smiled and exhaled. As long as Snivy could keep going, so could he. He looked over at Dawn and Mamoswine. While those two looked better than he and Snivy, Mamoswine _had _to have taken _some _damage from Snivy's attacks. The trouble was that Mamoswine was pretty evened out against Grass Pokémon, its Ice-type making up for any weaknesses its Ground-type might have.

_The problem's that ice fur, _Ash mused. _I need to break it. _"Snivy, use Leaf Storm on Mamoswine's ice fur!"

"_Sniiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvy!" _The small green serpentine spun her tail round and around, whipping up a frenzy. She pointed her tail at the big mammoth, sending the squall of leaves its way.

"We're not just gonna let that happen!" Dawn insisted. "Right, Mamoswine?"

"_Mammo!" _Mamoswine stomped its foot eagerly. "That's the spirit!" Dawn cheered. "Now deflect that Leaf Storm with Hidden Power!"

"_Maaaaaaaaaammmmooooooooooo-swiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!" _With a roar, Mamoswine stomped its foot down and conjured a ring of green orbs around it. It sent them flying towards the oncoming Leaf Storm. The orbs tore holes through the oncoming attack, through which Dawn saw her chance. "Quick Mamoswine, aim Ice Shard through the holes at Snivy!"

Opening its mouth, Mamoswine conjured a white ball of frozen energy. With another roar, it shot the ball through, breaking through Leaf Storm and hitting Snivy dead-on, sending her sprawling back a distance of eight feet near the edge of the wharf. Thankfully she didn't fall in, but to Ash's chagrin she didn't get up.

"Oh no, Snivy!" Ash cried, running over to the fallen Pokémon. Snivy lay bruised on her back, her eyes indicating she was down for the count.

"Snivy is unable to battle! Mamoswine is the winner! This battle goes to Dawn!" Brock announced, raising his hand in her favor.

"Yes!" Dawn jumped up and down from one foot to the other before running over to hug her Pokémon. "Way to _go, _Mamoswine! You were _great!" _she praised. The beast murmured softly as she hugged it, returning her affections.

Ash smiled at Dawn and then at Snivy. "You were great too," he told her. Snivy looked up at him and smiled.

"_Snivy," _she said quietly. _(I know)._

Ash took out Snivy's Poké Ball and recalled her. Walking back over to Dawn, he gave credit where credit was due. "Good going Dawn. You were great back there."

"Thanks Ash! You too!" Dawn replied. When she said this though, the others looked at each other with disagreeing looks on their faces. Except for Iris and Cilan, they all knew Ash could battle better than that. But they smiled anyway, just to be polite.

"That was a great battle," Ash admitted. "Now how much longer until the boat gets here?"

Brock checked his watch. "It's nine twenty-four, so not for another two hours and thirty-six minutes."

"Awwwwwwwwwwww!"

"Come on Ash," Misty giggled. "Don't tell me you wanted to get going before _I _got a chance to battle you."

"No way! If you're ready, _I'm _ready!" Ash answered her.

The two of them squared off against each other. Ash was tempted to send out Pikachu since he knew Misty only used Water Pokémon. But since everyone wanted to see his newer Pokémon, he decided against it.

Brock held up both hands. "The third battle of Ash versus Misty is now underway!"

Misty grinned devilishly. "Don't be nervous Ash."

Ash grinned devilishly back. "Why would I be? After all, I'm about to earn my Cascade Badge all over again."

"Oooooooh, I'll get you for that one!" Misty warned. But her tone was playful and she had a broad smile on her face. Even though their battle for Ash's Cascade Badge had been interrupted by Team Rocket, Misty's sisters had given it to him regardless as they believed he would have won anyway. The two of them had battled again twice after that day: once for her Togepi and another for his Totodile. The latter battle in particular provided the most closure for them regarding the matter as Ash had defeated the person he needed in order to earn it.

Each Trainer took out a Poké Ball and gripped it determinedly.

"You're about to see just how far I've come as the Cerulean Gym Leader!" Misty proclaimed, throwing her Poké Ball. "Go Staryu!"

"_Hyaa!" _The five-pointed star-shaped Pokémon emerged from its Ball and stood determined on two points.

"I'm gonna fight fire with fire!" Ash replied. "Even though here it's more like fighting water with water..." He threw the Poké Ball. "Oshawott, I choose you!"

The little sea otter popped out of its Poké Ball, standing confidently on two feet. Brock gave the signal. "Begin!"

"Oshawott, use Water Gun!"

"Staryu, use Rapid Spin!"

"_Oshaaaaaaa-wot!" _The sea otter reared its head back and shot a jet of water at Staryu. In response, the Star Shape Pokémon jumped off its hind points and began rotating in midair, seemingly changing in shape from a star to a circle as its five points blended together. The jet of water hit it and was deflected off harmlessly in another direction.

"We'll just have to try something else, Oshawott!" Ash called to it. "Use Tackle!"

_What? _Misty looked at Ash, surprised. Using such a simple move as Tackle against a Pokémon already in the process of using Rapid Spin? Was that a smart move for him to make?

She sighed. Ash would have to learn the hard way.

"_Osha!" _Oshawott charged towards Staryu, who just continued spinning. As Oshawott's cranium made contact with Staryu's spinning self, the little sea otter found itself deflected. _"Osha!" _it complained, rubbing its sore temples.

"What?" Ash was surprised. "Why didn't that work?" Iris folded her arms. _Because you're battling like a kid, you dope._

"Staryu!" called Misty. "Use Double Edge!"

"_Hyaa!" _Staryu jumped up into the air and spun itself again, coming down and hitting Oshawott once, then seemingly flew away only to come back and hit it from the other side. Taken completely by surprise, Oshawott reeled backwards, trying to get a sense of its surroundings.

"Hang in there, Oshawott!" Ash called. "You can do this! Use Razor Shell!"

Immediately Oshawott regained its footing. Taking its Scalchop off its chest, it wielded it like the base of a lightsaber, a sword of blue aquatic energy forming from it. As Staryu swirled back around for another go at Double Edge, Oshawott slammed the blade of Razor Shell into its back, sending the Star Shape Pokémon plummeting to the ground.

"Awwww yeah! Great job Oshawott!" Ash called to it. Oshawott responded with a proud, enthusiastic puff of its chest upon landing.

Misty for her part wasn't too impressed. Maybe it was because she'd seen Ash battle for so long that his ability to come up with feasible counterattacks no longer surprised her. She just took it for granted that he'd come up with something after struggling for a bit.

That being said of course, she had a surprise for _him _as well, and it would be a bitter pill to swallow.

"Staryu!" she called, "Get up and use Hydro Pump!"

"_Hyaa!" _Staryu complied immediately, jumping back up onto its points and spinning again. As it spun it released a jet of water from all five points, essentially becoming a wheel of water. Ash saw it and reacted. "Oshawott, counter it with_ your _Hydro Pump!"

"_Oshaaaaaa!" _The sea otter joined its hands together and shot out a swirling vortex, which was how its species performed the move. Ash grinned; he liked it when Trainers countered a move with the same move. It was a chance to see just whose Pokémon had a stronger use of it and could use it better, and he was confident it would be his.

It came as a shock then when Staryu's wheel of water cut _right through _Oshawott's vortex and slammed right into it!The sea otter, having been unprepared for this, was sent flying back, landing on its back.

"Oshawott!" Ash cried. "Hurry, get up!"

Oshawott struggled, trying to get to its feet. But Misty wouldn't give it a chance. "Staryu, finish it with Bubble Beam!"

Ash didn't know how to reply. Oshawott was still stuck on its back, so what good was trying to use any of its moves until it made it back? With no ideas coming to mind, all he could do was sit back and watch helplessly as Staryu's onslaught of bubbles bombarded Oshawott, finishing off the sea otter and sealing its chances at victory. When the onslaught of bubbles stopped, Brock walked over to check Oshawott; the little sea otter sported swirls on its eyes. He held up his hands.

"Oshawott is unable to battle; Staryu wins. Therefore, the victory goes to Misty!"

"Hooray!" Misty jumped up and down, commemorating her victory. She ran over to Staryu and thanked it for its help before returning it to its Poké Ball.

Ash walked over and picked up Oshawott, holding it in his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked tenderly. The sea otter nodded. "You did great. I'm proud of you. You did your best, and that's all I care about. You deserve a good rest." With that he recalled Oshawott and walked over to Misty. "That was a great battle Misty," he said. He held out his hand to be a good sport. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," Misty replied, taking it and shaking it. "Although I was surprised. You'd just been through a whole region with Oshawott, Ash. I would've thought it would be stronger."

"It _is _stronger!" Ash insisted, offended. "It's already much stronger than Staryu, even though you've been traveling with Staryu _much _longer than me and Oshawott!"

"Oh, is that a fact?" Misty shot back, "Well I didn't see any of it in that battle! Seems to me you've fallen off as a Trainer!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Well, I won the Totodile!"

"Well, I won the Togepi!"

The two of them were now invaded each other's personal space, glaring daggers at each other. Ash's hat was nearly pushed of his head.

Brock wisely intervened. "Guys c'mon, let's not fight. There's other people here so cool it, alright?"

Noticing people staring at them, Ash and Misty let the matter die with an emphatic _"Hmph!" _from each of them as they folded their arms and looked in opposite directions. Brock sighed. "I was hoping we've have moved past this by now."

"I know!" suggested Cilan brightly. "Let's all bury the hatchet with an early lunch!"

"Done!" called Max and May in one voice. Everyone else agreed, although for them it would be more like a late breakfast. Or just breakfast, since by now it was only nine-twenty-nine. Ash and Misty's battle had only taken five minutes.

"But wait a minute," said Misty. "There's two cooks here. Who's going to cook?"

With that, Brock and Cilan faced each other. The two older ones exchanged respectfully rivalrous glances. "Shall we battle to find out?" asked Cilan.

The two got up in each other's faces before anticlimactically backing off and dismissing it. "Nah, we'll both cook," said Brock.

"What?!" Ash belted out in disappointment. "But I wanted to see a battle!"

Brock turned back to Cilan and shrugged. "Some other time." Cilan nodded his agreement. "We all have to eat, Ash."

"But we just ate a few minutes ago!" Ash pointed out. Then he realized what he'd just said. "Wait, what am I _saying?_" He sat down with his friends, the majority of whom hadn't eaten yet and were thus famished. Since he wasn't hungry, he'd have to endure his friends eating while he waited. But that was the ninth circle of Hell, so he decided against it. He got up, picking up Pikachu as he did. "See you guys later. I'm going into town."

"What? Why?" asked Misty. Ash made up an excuse. "To heal my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center. I'm not gonna wait two and a half hours to do that."

"Fair enough," said Misty. "Go and do that. But be back before the boat gets here."

"Of course I will!" Ash replied, indignant. He'd had enough of people questioning him for the time being. Now was a nice time to get away from everybody and enjoy some quiet time with just him and his Pokémon.

Ash departed from the wharf and made his way towards Vermillion City's Pokémon Center. Like all other Pokémon Centers anywhere else, it was easy to find as it distinguished itself from other buildings by either its Poké Ball shape or the logo on its front. As Nurse Joy tended to Snivy, Pignite and Oshawott, Ash sat down by the window with Pikachu, who sensed his master's troubles. _"Pika-pika-pikachu?" _he asked.

"It's nothing," said Ash, "It's just that I'm annoyed at Misty and Iris. Why do they have to pick on me like that? I've been a Trainer longer than Iris, and Misty should know by now how good I am at Pokémon battles. They're just being mean." He turned to his partner. "Do you think they're right, Pikachu? I mean, give me your honest opinion. Do I battle like an amateur?"

Pikachu put his hand to his chin, thinking long and hard about this. Ash got a little dismayed by how long his answer took. "Okay, you don't have to think for _that _long," he murmured, dejected.

Finally Pikachu had an answer. _"Pikachu. Pika-pi-pi-pikachu. Pikachu-pika-pi-pi-pika. Pika-pi. Pika-pikachu."_

"Hmmm…" Ash murmured. "The thing about that is, I like to challenge myself every time I go to a new region. If I just took the same Pokémon with me, I wouldn't have any new experiences. The world of Pokémon's just _so _vast it feels like there's always going to be new experiences; it's never going to end. And, well… I _like_ that feeling."

"_Pikachu-pika-pi."_

"Oh. Then what _were _you talking about?"

"_Pika-pikachu."_

"Oh, okay." Ash shrugged. "I don't know what they mean by clever moves though. My brain just… _comes up _with that stuff. I don't know how my brain works, it just _does. _So when I pull off something like Thunder Armor or Counter Shield, I'm just doing what it gave me. I don't _think _about this stuff, it just… happens." He shrugged as he said the last part of that sentence. "And, well… sometimes it doesn't give me stuff, so I just do what I think is best. That's not battling like an amateur, is it?"

"_Pika-pika-pikachu."_

"What do you mean? I travel all these regions because I want to recapture the feeling of being a new Trainer."

"_Pikachu-pika-pika-pi?"_

Ash looked downwards. "I don't know, _maybe. _I just…" he paused. "If I stopped using new Pokémon and used all my old ones, I… I don't know, I guess I wouldn't feel like a new Trainer anymore. And I don't like that, Pikachu. I don't like not feeling like a new Trainer, because think about it: When you're a new Trainer, you've got your whole journey ahead of you. But once you're an experienced Trainer, _boom_, it's all gone. There's nothing left for you to do. The journey _ends_." Ash fell silent. "I don't like it when things end," he said softly. "I _hate_ endings." He looked at Pikachu. "Besides, all that traveling is fun for me. Isn't it fun for you?"

Pikachu confirmed this with a nod. Ash smiled faintly. "I'm glad. Thanks Pikachu." He scratched Pikachu's furry head. "Sometimes I think you know me better than the others do."

There was truth to that. As Ash's starter, Pikachu enjoyed a privilege that none of Ash's companions or his other Pokémon did. All of Ash's other Pokémon knew him as their Trainer, but Pikachu also knew him as a person, being privy to all Ash's thoughts and feelings, from his ponderings to his worries. And he'd continue to be every step of the way, as that was how it was. Not just for him and Ash, but for _every _Trainer and their starter Pokémon. Stop any Trainer on the street and they'd tell you the same thing: _Sure, I love all my Pokémon. But [name of starter] has a special place in my heart. _This is paraphrasing of course, but you get the gist.

"Excuse me, young man!" Ash and Pikachu turned to see a doctor and a nurse. The doctor was fatter with short bluish-purple hair. The nurse was a redhead.

"How are your Pokémon feeling?" asked the doctor. He leaned in uncomfortably close to Pikachu. "I can tell your Pikachu's exhausted. Would you like us to give it a checkup for you?"

"N-no, that's alright…" Ash replied awkwardly. "I'm just getting some of my other Pokémon checked. Pikachu's fine."

"Oh, I see…" murmured the doctor.

Suddenly the nurse stuck out a finger. "My goodness, look at that Moltres!"

"Huh?! Moltres?!" Ash turned and pressed his nose to the glass window, trying to get a glimpse of the Legendary Bird Pokémon. This only lasted for a second after he heard Pikachu desperately crying for help. Turning back, Ash saw the doctor and the nurse running away with Pikachu in hand!

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Ash demanded. "Gimme back my Pikachu!" Determined to get his partner back, Ash sprang into action and gave chase. The doctor and the nurse merely ran from him.

They led him out of the Pokémon Center into the back lot, where a hot-air balloon resembling a Meowth was parked. I'm sure you saw this coming a while back, but I think we all knew where this is headed anyway, right?

"Who are you guys?!" Ash demanded of them, not recognizing the stylized _R _on the front of the balloon. "And what do you want with Pikachu?!"

The two cackled and threw off their disguises. As Ash saw them, they began speaking:

"Prepare for trouble, 'cause that's all you'll get!"

"Make it double, 'cause you thought you saw Moltres!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of Truth and Love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Meowth popped out of James's shirt and jumped down. _"Meeeeeeeeeowth, _that's right!" he finished.

"_Wooooooobbuffet!" _Jessie's Wobbuffet joined in to, popping out of its Poké Ball.

"Team Rocket!" Ash glared at them. "What do you guys want? Give me back Pikachu!"

"Nope!" rebutted James. He held up a plastic case containing Pikachu. "We're not giving you anything! Pikachu's coming with us!"

"_Piiiiiiiiiiiikachuuuuuuuuuu!" _Pikachu tried to free itself from the casing by releasing an electric attack. But despite his efforts the case remained intact as the electricity subsided.

"Hah-hah-hah-hah! Good luck tryin' ta break out, Pikachu!" taunted Meowth. "That cage's shock-proof, just like all our other ones!"

"So long twerp!" called Team Rocket as they got into their balloon and took off.

"Hey, wait!" Ash called after them, but it was no use. He automatically reached for his belt, worrying over which Pokémon to use: Charizard was back at the Valley and Leavanny who he'd switched it for was with his mother. Meanwhile Pignite, Snivy and Oshawott were all with Nurse Joy being healed. With Pikachu captured by Team Rocket, five out of his six Pokémon were not with him.

Taking the one remaining Poké Ball from his belt, Ash considered it. There was only one move this Pokémon knew that could help him. Making a quick decision, Ash threw the Poké Ball. "Scraggy, come out and use Focus Blast!"

Scraggy appeared in a flash of blue-white light. Gripping its pants, the Shedding Pokémon put its hands together and conjured a blue-white ball of energy. Thrusting its hands out, Scraggy's ball of energy struck Team Rocket's balloon, sending it crashing down in the forest.

"Come on Scraggy!" Ash called to it. Scraggy struggled after its Trainer, trying to run while keeping its pants up. They arrived in a section of the forest where Team Rocket's balloon had crash-landed. As Ash and Scraggy arrived to take Pikachu back, Jessie, James and Meowth made their way out from underneath their escape vehicle. (Hot-air balloons are vehicles, right?)

"Hey, what's the big idea crashin' our balloon like dat?!" Meowth asked angrily.

"What's the big idea taking my Pikachu?!" Ash responded.

"We don't have to answer to you, twerp!" answer Jessie, throwing a Poké Ball. "Woobat, go!"

James threw one of his own. "Yamask, you too!"

A ball of fur with wings and a black curl with a face emerged.

"Woobat, Air Slash!" called Jessie.

"Yamask, use Night Slash!" called James.

"Dodge them, Scraggy!" Ash ordered. As the attacks came, Scraggy jumped to the right, averting them. Ash grimaced. _Flying-type and Ghost-type. I know I shouldn't be worried, but Scraggy only knows Fighting-type moves. _He then shook his head. _What am I thinking?! There's more to battles then just Type! I just have to figure out how to use Scraggy's moves to win!_

Then he noticed Pikachu's capsule and smiled. _I know how, _he thought. He looked up at Woobat and Yamask. _But first I need to distract those two. _"Scraggy, another Focus Blast!"

"_Scraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-ggy!" _Scraggy launched another blue-white ball of energy at the two. Yamask simply took off its mask and held it in front of itself and Woobat, deflecting the attack harmlessly off of itself. Being a Ghost-type, it was completely unaffected.

"Ha-ha!" laughed Jessie. "What good was that, twerp?" She looked over at where she expected Ash to be. He wasn't there. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

"He was there last time we saw him!" said James, painfully stating the obvious. He and Jessie began searching with their eyes until Meowth pointed them in the direction of far left. "He's over dere!"

The other two villains turned to see Ash and Scraggy near Pikachu's capsule. On Ash's order, Scraggy reared its head back and gave it a smash. The capsule broke and Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms. "Good to have you back, buddy!"

Team Rocket was peeved. "What's the big idea?!" demanded Jessie. "We were stealing that!"

"Yeah, well steal this!" said Ash, not caring about how dumb he sounded. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"_Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiikachuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" _Pikachu released a bolt of electricity which made its way to Team Rocket and shot through them. It also went through their balloon's propane burner, which exploded and sent them flying.

"Aw, that stinks!" moaned James. "I was so sure we had Pikachu since his other Pokémon were away!"

"Me too!" moaned Jessie. "I thought we could catch it before the Whirl Cup, but we'll just have to take it there!"

"Doesn't matter," said Meowth, "Because…"

"…we're blasting off again!" chorused the three as they disappeared with a twinkle into the wild blue yonder. Ash bent down and petted Scraggy. "Thanks for your help."

"_Scraggy-scrag!" _it replied. Ash recalled Scraggy and started walking back to the Pokémon Center.

_See? I knew it, _he thought to himself. _Misty and Iris are wrong; I can still battle like a clever guy. They're all worried over nothing._


End file.
